Day 9
by whysosiriusblack45
Summary: The Chinese havent forgotten about Jack. A new day begins... yes, yes, this is from an OC's POV... pleez dont hate on me. may be jack/OC or may be jack/audrey... cant do Renee/Jack anymore... ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

I work at CTU, Counter Terrorist Unit, in Los Angeles. I am the first female Field Ops Officer ever to work at CTU, and I'm damn proud of it. I've been working my whole life to become a field agent, and then to become the head of CTU Field Ops. I dreamed of becoming an agent of the government ever since I was little. I know right; I was the weird little six year old kid who wanted to be a government agent when everyone else wanted to be a ballerina or a teacher. My perspective of the job of being a government agent has changed much from how I looked at it as a child, but as it changed and became clearer, the more I wanted to become one. I love my country, and I knew if there was any way to protect it, CTU would be my place. I graduated Hudson High School in OH with straight A's, before continuing to go to UCLA for my Bachelor of Arts and English Literature degrees. Then I went to UC Berkeley for my Master of Science and Criminology and Law degrees, before finishing off my learning with the LAPD Basic SWAT School. I joined to military for a while, fighting for my country in more than one undercover operation. It was then that I remembered my dream to work at CTU. I worked for many government branches, biding my time, waiting for an opening at CTU. Anything, whether it was field ops or an analyst, I was willing to take. I wanted to protect this country more than anything in the world. And then in September of 2013, I got my chance. I worked as an analyst, but during a terrorist attack, through a number of extremely bizarre and complicated events, Lincoln Jefferies, the current Field Ops officer turned out to be a mole working for that day's terrorists. I was a last minute replacement, but I still got the job. I was so excited, I finally achieved my dream! Maybe I didn't get it under the circumstances that I wanted, but I got the job. The day was finally over, and I have now been the head of Field Ops for two years. Overall, it's been very peaceful compared to that day. But it was like the calm before the storm. I felt something was wrong in my gut, like this was unnatural. Maybe we had finally conveyed to our enemies that no matter how hard you strike America, we will not fall. But that was wishful thinking. As this day unfolds, everything I've ever known is shaken.

My name is Federal Agent Alexis Matthews and today is the longest day of my life.

* * *

The following takes place between 10:00 pm to 11:00 pm. Events occur in real time.

* * *

A small dark room serves as a workplace for two men. Their faces are barely visible, half concealed in the shadows of the night. One is pacing the floor anxiously, passing in and out of the small strip of light. The other man with long greasy hair sits hunched over a mechanical device inside an air locked box. His hands are sheathed in rubber gloves, the rim of both attached to the box, preventing any hazardous materials from making contact with the two men's skin. The device inside the box is small. It's unlike anything anyone has ever made before. It looks like the fragments of a pen, but the fragments are being modified.

"_Is it finished?_" the pacing man asks frustrated; he speaks a foreign language. Some kind of Asian tongue.

"_I need a few more minutes,_" the greasy haired man says, apparently annoyed at the other man's impatience. "_I don't know if I can finish it. We need Harland's help. Only he knows how to put it together._" The pacing man nods. He opens the door to the room, stalking out into a dark hallway. Across the way, there is another room with a barred window. The pacing man glares through the window at a terrified, pasty American man, who is bound and gagged to a chair. There is a cut on his head, bleeding slightly. The man has definitely been beaten harshly. The pacing man unlocks the door and steps inside.

"Harland," he addresses the bound man, speaking with an Asian accent, while pulling out his pistol. "You are well aware that we are watching your family. If you do not cooperate with us, I will personally kill your children, one by one. I will make you watch as I put a bullet through your wife's brain, and I will kill your daughters. I will make you watch them suffer horribly if you do not do what we ask. Are we clear?" The terrified Caucasian man nods, and gives a muffled "yes" barely discernable through the gag.

"Good."

Meanwhile…

_Beep beep, beep beep._

I pick up the phone on my desk, answering, "Matthews."

"Matthews, this is Hastings. Come up to my office straight away. We just got some new intel on the terrorist threat."

"Sir, I wasn't aware that there was a terrorist threat. The last months have been smooth sailing."

"That's why I said the intel was new," my boss's voice, Brian Hastings, rang at me through the receiver. He was clearly in a foul mood. President Taylor had personally transferred Hastings to be the head of the newly resurrected CTU L.A. branch. He had become quite pompous after his success of stopping a nuclear warhead threat 2 years ago. He was only transferred here last month, and he was acting like he was everyone's personal Jesus. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, sir," I replied, my tone cold and emotionless. I put the phone down and made my way to the stairs that lead to the head of CTU's office. I climbed the stairs and pushed open the door walking into Hastings' office. I wasn't in there with him alone though. Senior data analyst, Chloe O'Brian was standing beside Hastings' desk, clearly looking pissed off.

"What's the new intel sir?" asked walking in to stand beside Chloe. Despite her social awkwardness, I actually liked Chloe. She was a bit odd, but then again, aren't we all? Plus she's a genius when it comes to computers so that makes her an invaluable asset. She's seen it all, done it all, and survived everything that the terrorists had thrown at her for all the years she's been at CTU. She had been transferred back to th e LA branch as soon as the resurrection had begun, where as Hastings had only been here for a month.

"I called in both of you on an urgent matter. There has been evidence brought forth that a terrorist attack is imminent."

"When?" asked Chloe, a bit skeptically.

"Today."

"Why didn't we know about it until today!?" I asked frustrated.

"We didn't know about it until today because the information of this attack didn't come forward until today, Matthews," Hastings addressed me.

"What's the source?" I asked.

"Audrey Raines," said Hastings.

"Audrey Raines?" I asked; I had heard rumors of her before. She was Secretary of Defense Heller's daughter and had worked at CTU for a while. I didn't know where she was now though.

"Sir," Chloe spoke up. "Audrey Raines is in a semi-catatonic state. She can barely speak. How could she be the source?" I looked at Chloe's face. Her expression was of confusion but also sadness. I remembered that Chloe and Raines must have worked together while they were at CTU, they had probably been friends.

"She's recently been regaining her use of speech. She keeps saying the same thing over and over again. 'Attack. 8, 23, 15. Bomb.' She's been regaining her speech very slowly; no one understood what she meant until today. She's nearly recovered and has been speaking sentences. Her father says she's been fighting to get out of the house to CTU. I quote, 'There's going to be an attack. 8. 23. 15. That's what they said; that's what they said.'"

"Sir, she's been in a catatonic state for nearly five years. How would we know if anything she says is credible?" I asked.

"That's the thing. We don't. But she had been in the captivity of the Chinese government for a little less than two years. It's odd that since the terrorist attack involving Hassan's people two years ago, there hasn't been another serious attack since. The threat levels are at a general low, and I don't like the way this is feeling. It's unnatural how smooth things are going. It's like all of our enemies have simultaneously given up."

"Is there anything else we are going on besides the feeling in our guts?" I asked skeptically.

"Yes. About a week ago there was a missing persons report, Doctor Reginald Harland. We did some research, trying to find him, and on his cell phone there were three recent calls from a known Chinese terrorist named Wong Li Ling. Dr. Harland is a nuclear weapons researcher and scientist for the American government," said Hastings, pulling up a picture of Harland and Wong on his computer. Harland was chubby and pale, with thinning black-grey hair, with a squashed looking nose. Wong had long greasy hair with thick bushy eyebrows and a small nose. "Contact between a nuclear scientist and a known terrorist cannot be a good thing. Especially since Wong was also a scientist before he became a terrorist."

"And Audrey was kidnapped by the Chinese, making her information more and more reliable," I concluded. "What if Harland was also kidnapped by the Chinese? That could wreak horrible results. He would know the details to creating a nuclear bomb."

"But don't the Chinese already know how to build nuclear weapons?" Chloe asked.

"Not a terrorist group," I said my mind racing. "Unless the terrorist group was made completely of scientists, I doubt that they would have the data to make a bomb of any form."

"Unless they're ex-military," she shot back.

"Which is an extreme possibility," I said. "So that means that they must need Harland to do some difficult part of the weapon that they can't make themselves."

"Would there be any possibility that Wong is working with the Chinese government? If Audrey heard about an attack while in the Chinese government's custody…"

"Not necessarily, Chloe," Hastings spoke. "Wong's file says that he was in Chinese custody around the same time as Audrey. But within the next year he escaped. The files don't say anything more than that."

"So Audrey and Wong happen to be placed close to each other in prison and he tells her of his plan?" I asked, still a little skeptical.

"I think she would've overheard him somehow," said Chloe. "If it was when he was being tortured then the information could be fabricated to escape the pain. Or it could be true and the Chinese government knows of the attack and has not warned our country."

"Or they didn't take the threat seriously. They might not have believed him," I contemplated.

"That still doesn't explain why a nuclear scientist disappears after receiving three calls from Wong Li Ling," Hastings said. I frowned.

"Does anyone have a visual of Harland's family?" I asked. "If he really was captured by Wong then that means Wong would want leverage over Harland; make him do what he wants."

"Or Harland could be in league with them," said Hastings. "He could've gone with them willingly."

"I doubt it," I said. "It's says on the sheet that his wife reported him for missing persons. If he was going on his own free will he would've made up some excuse to tell his wife so she wouldn't call the police if he didn't show up."

"So we are definitely taking this as a threat?" Chloe asked. "Or a possible threat?"

"Yes," Hastings said. "Chloe, I want you to bring up a satellite on Harland's house and run a thermal image; see how many people are inside. Once she's done that, I want you, Matthews, to go with a Tac team to the house. We want to know if there are any possible hostiles." I nodded heading out the door and down the stairs to prepare a team to check up on the Harlands.

10:13:56

* * *

y'all like? i might decide to continue it, i might not... im having really really really bad obsessing issues over 24 right now. jack bauer is just so damn awesome!!!!! :D i love him to death! he's one of the deepest, most tortured and empathetic characters ever created. after everything he's gone through, you just want him to catch a break! but then a new day starts :) heheh... i love him! :D

watching season 8 right now, and although i know ALOT of people dont agree with it, i am a total Renee/Jack shipper. :) he's gotta save her, gotta stop her from becoming like him! :'( do you people realize that she's literally the only person to have slapped (twice) and stabbed Jack and live to tell the tale? lolz :D i feel torn, because i love them as a pairing, but i also love him and audrey together! but theyre so tragic! never was a tale more tragic than jack and audrey... but i am a renee/jack fan now :D mainly cuz i gotta move on that audrey's not gonna come back... except in fanfiction :)

btw, this MIGHT eventually become Jack/OFC... im still deciding if that'll work in the plot or not, considering im kinda bring audrey back just a little bit. plus i dont want to write ANOTHER mary-sue... gr... read and review pleases!!! :D


	2. Chapter 2

10:18:43

"Chloe," I said heading toward her desk as my tac team prepared to check up on the Harlands. "Have you run a thermal scan yet?"

"Yeah," Chloe said pointing to her monitor. "There are five heat signatures in the upper left quadrant of the house. Four of them are huddled together, while the fourth is about five feet away. I'm guessing that the fourth is a hostile and the three others are the wife and daughters." I nodded, then frowned looking at the image again.

"What are these?" I asked pointing to the dots around the outside of the house.

"I was getting to that," she said irritated. "There are four other heat signatures patrolling the perimeter of the house. My guess is they're hostiles too, keeping a lookout."

"Copy that," I said turning to my team. "Six possible hostiles, men. Do not aim to kill; I repeat, do not aim to kill. Alright, let's move out."

* * * * *

At the White House…

"Madame President," Secretary of State Ethan Kanin addressed President Allison Taylor as he walked into the Oval Office. She nodded at him.

"What is it Ethan?" she asked.

"Ma'am," he said. "We may have a situation." She frowned and motioned for him to sit down.

"What kind of a situation?"

"Ma'am, CTU has detected what may become a terrorist threat," he said. "It's still in the premature stages, we don't have much information but they believe a threat may be imminent."

"What information do they have? What kind of a threat?" she asked sitting forward.

"A nuclear threat, ma'am," Ethan said.

"What!" she said raising her eyebrows. "How did this happen?"

"Again, Madame President, it's still in the early phases. A nuclear scientist for our government was reported on the missing persons list; CTU believes that the man, Reginald Harland, was kidnapped by a known terrorist, Wong Li Ling, and that Harland's family is being kept under surveillance by his men. A tac unit is moving in on their house as we speak."

"Is Wong being backed by any government, or is he working on his own?" she asked standing up.

"That's unclear at this point, ma'am. They found three calls from Wong on Harland's cell phone. It appears that he might have been threatened by whoever took him," said Ethan.

"What do we know about this man, Wong?" the President asked pacing the floor.

"He was in a Chinese prison camp for a year in a half before he escaped, and then went under the radar, and hasn't resurfaced until now. CTU said they were keeping tabs on all contact information that Wong had ever used. The number on Harland's phone is definitely Wong's."

"Tell DoD to heighten their security measures and put out an alert to all departments," she said. "Until this thing pans out, we don't know whether we have a crisis or not. Tell CTU to keep giving us real time updates. I want to know the second they find something."

"What should we tell the department heads?" Ethan asked. "They'll want a reason for tightening security."

"Tell only the heads of the departments that we have a possible crisis on our hands. Instruct them not to relay that information to the rest of their department though. One thing I've learned over the years is that whenever a crisis occurs it's because there's a mole somewhere in some department. Best keep this information on a short leash. Keep me updated Ethan." He nods and then exits the room as the President looks out the window on Washington DC wondering how this could've happened.

* * * * *

Arrival at Harland's house…

We arrived at the house, pulling up silently in SUVs. The entire neighborhood was silent but for a lone dog's muffled bark. I squinted into the dark night, straining to see what lay ahead. I saw no looming figures in the dark, no hostiles. The lights were on in the house though, faintly shining through the drawn curtains. I got out of car, closing the door quietly behind me, and pulling out my field weapon, a HK USP Compact 9mm pistol, bracing it with both arms.

"Move in," I said quietly into my comm unit. I stalked over the front lawn, motioning for my men to move ahead with my hand. At that second, I felt something cold and hard pressed into the side of my head and a voice breathed in my ear, "Make a sound and I'll shoot your brains out." I froze, the blood in my veins turned to ice. I had to inform the rest of the tac team, whether it cost my life or not. _Disable weapon_, I thought. Before my attacker could say another word, I knocked his arm down so the gun wasn't aimed at my hand just as he fired, and blocked his punch aimed at my gut, before hitting him over the head with the butt of my gun, which knocked him out cold.

"Confirmed hostiles, all teams move in!" I said urgently into my comm. I heard gunshots ring out in the cool night air, but did not look around to investigate. I hurried forward with three other agents to the front door.

"Go, go, go!" an agent instructed as two of my men smashed down the front door. I was right behind them and we rushed into the house and I braced myself for a fight. An Asian man stood in the middle of the room, a gun to the head of a woman who I could only assume was Harland's wife.

"Stand down!" he yelled at my men.

"Drop your weapon!" I commanded. "We have the entire building surrounded! Surrender or I will be forced to shoot you."

"Stand your men down or I'll kill the woman!" he ordered again.

"No," I said firmly. "Surrender or I will shoot you."

"If what you said about being surrounded is true then there's no reason for me to let her live. You'll just kill me anyways," he reasoned. He smirked maniacally and cocked his gun; the woman whimpered terrified. I took aim and was about to pull the trigger when a gunshot sounded. I stared confused as the man dropped his gun and cried out, grasping at his arm in pain; the woman pulled away as one of my men pulled her to the side and out of the line of fire. The man hadn't fired the shot, and I hadn't either. The man fell to the ground, still clutching his arm, and that's when I saw a man standing in the doorway behind him. I aimed my gun at the man.

"Drop your weapon!" I ordered; he complied, setting his weapon slowly on the ground and kicking it over to me without my even asking. He then got on his knees and interlocked his fingers behind his head. I frowned; he obviously knew the drill. Two of my agents rushed forward and took the Asian man into custody. I rushed over to him, retrieving his gun as the two agents took the other man to the medical team standing by.

"My name is Federal Agent Matthews of CTU. Who are you?" I demanded.

"Retired Federal Agent Jack Bauer," he replied shortly. I frowned at him.

"Confirm that with the archives," I ordered Agent Smith beside me. He nodded and rushed off to verify. I turned my attention back to Bauer. "What are you doing here?" I demanded still keeping my gun trained on him.

"I was kidnapped and was being held with the woman and her two children," he stated.

"Do you know why?" I asked.

"No," he said. "But when your men first fired a shot, the man guarding us got distracted. I got his weapon and took him out. Your team came in and then I shot the other one in the arm. Figured you would need at least one alive for interrogation."

"Agent Matthews," said Agent Smith as he suddenly appeared by my side. "He's checked out. Hastings himself ID'd him as Bauer."

"Hastings?" asked Bauer. "He's still running CTU?"

"Yeah," I said lowering my weapon and stowing it in its holster. I offered him my hand to help him up off his knees. He grabbed my hand and I hoisted him to his feet. "Sorry about that. You know protocol."

"Yeah," he said gruffly. Just then I was approached by Agent Smith again.

"Agent Matthews," he addressed me. "We've ID'd all the hostiles. None of them are Wong Li Ling." Bauer's head snapped up and he looked over at us.

"Did you say Wong Li Ling?" he asked urgently walking over to us.

"You know him?" He stared at the wall with a deadened look in his eyes.

"Yeah, I know him," he said gruffly. I retrieved my PDA from my pocket and pulled up the picture of Wong.

"Is this him?" I asked Bauer. He nodded. "How do you know him?" He looked up and back at me.

"Approximately six years ago, I was taken prisoner in a Chinese prison camp. I was there for two years before I was brought back to the US because of an exchange. While I was there, Wong was there too." Jack held up his right hand which had been severely burned but healed over time, so now the skin was shiny and wrinkled. "He gave me this." I winced. Then my brow furrowed.

"Wait," I said. "He was one of your captors?" He nodded blankly. "So he was working with the Chinese government?" He nodded again. I frowned. "In our files it says that he was being held prisoner there along with you and a woman named Audrey Raines." His head shot up and he looked at me in disbelief.

"Audrey...?" he rasped. "Audrey was there… the whole time?" I nodded.

"You know her?" I asked.

"Yeah, I knew her…" he said quietly staring at the wall blankly again.

"Mr. Bauer," I addressed him; he seemed to snap out of it, looking back at me again. "Are you absolutely positive that Wong was not a prisoner?" He nodded.

"Both him and a man named Cheng Zhi questioned me," he said darkly. My mind was racing. If Wong was behind the attack conspiracy, and he had been working for the government… My head snapped up.

"Chloe," I said through my comm unit.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Get me the President of the United States."


End file.
